Holy September

Man, it sure didn’t take long for me to realize how much I’ve missed some real sports news. After three long summer months with minimal sporting options, the reality of fall just hit me over the head: fall is freaking awesome.

Just look at the front page of any sports website. There’s barely any room for today’s news. I just finished watching a ridiculously entertaining tennis match, and that won’t even make page two.

I mean, did you see Clay Buchholz tonight? The kid threw a freaking no hitter at Fenway in his second start ever. Now I know as a Red Sox fan this means more personally then it may for others, but even when you take away allegiences this is pretty incredible.

Still, it can be argued that it wasn’t even the biggest news of the day. Hey, 21 rookies have thrown no-nos, but how many I-AA teams beat ranked opponents on opening day as an away team? None? Not anymore.

There will be people more qualified than I that will write about these stories, and with those words will be more concrete analysis of the day’s events. Still, a day like this is the exact reason why people watch sports.

In a world in which everything seems so determined, sports bring an element of potential that is rarely seen elsewhere. After a while, everyone knows how that movie will end, and everyone has heard that song. But on any given day, one game can be more than that. One blocked kick can change the face of the BCS, and one 23 year old can electrify the smallest ballpark in the majors.

Of course, the modern sports fan values single days more than ever. Many out there desire to make an instant history out of that one game, taking something special and attaching absolutes to it.

However, what is important is not whether what you witnessed was the “best ever,” but rather what purpose the extraordinary served. Games on days such as these remind us of why we bother to watch, why we take the time to be a fan.

In some posts I touch upon something I call “Why Sports Matter.” In reality it is more of a question than an answer. Many times I ask myself why I put so much effort into being a sports fan when there are other things to focus on. Surely I could devote my time on earth to more worthy tasks, so why do I care so much?

Thankfully, this is a question I don’t have to answer. My answer is found within box scores, power plays, and out routes. No combination or words are better than what our eyes can see, and with some luck, days like September 1st happen for us.

Today was a good day, and a good reminder of why we do this in the first place.